Dielectric barrier discharge lamps (also referred to as dielectrically impeded discharge lamps or occasionally silent discharge lamps) are known per se, for example from U.S. Pat. No. 5,994,849 or U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,155. They need to be operated by an electronic ballast which can apply high-voltage pulses iteratively to the discharge lamp. However, the invention is also directed at ballasts for other lamp types, which can be operated by iteratively generated voltage pulses and in the case of which there is a capacitive characteristic as in the case of dielectrically impeded discharges. In this regard, the term “dielectric barrier discharge lamp” can also be understood as being broadened to include such lamps and in particular also encompass all discharge lamps in which at least one electrode is arranged outside the discharge vessel.
The specification U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,600 B1 has disclosed a class E converter, also referred to as a flyback converter, for the pulsed operation of dielectric barrier discharge lamps. One disadvantage is the fact that the required core volume for the transformer or the input inductor increases with the lamp power. In addition, the range within which a connected lamp can be dimmed is relatively small.